


saviour

by thedyads1braincell



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe, Apprentice Rey, F/M, Force Bond (Star Wars), Force Dyad (Star Wars), Jedi Ben Solo, Kinda, Reylo - Freeform, Slow Burn, The Force, loosely based on the original story, quite a few characters as the story as it progresses
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:27:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 18,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24702295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thedyads1braincell/pseuds/thedyads1braincell
Summary: After leaving Jakku, Rey wakes up on a ship she do not recognise with a crew led by a man by the name of Ben Solo. During her time at the ship she does not only get to know the crew, she also learns a few new things about herself.
Relationships: Rey & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	1. found

**Author's Note:**

> don’t really know what to say or add here rn but enjoy! I’ll be adding tags as I go and try and figure out the exact number of chapters! 
> 
> please enjoy the first chapter!

A strange tingle filtered through her body, tugging at her consciousness. It felt...strange. Something inside her reacted to it, reaching back out to it. Her tired and weakened body suddenly felt lighter. The fatigue wrapped around her like a vice grip refusing to let go dissolved like sugar in water. As consciousness slowly returned to her, the foreign feeling felt like sparks under her skin. And just like that, it was gone. 

Snapping her eyes open, she took a careful breath. The pain she’d felt in her ribs was gone, no longer leaving her to hitch for her breath when inhaling too deeply. Wetting her dry lips with her tongue she took in the room she was in. It definitely wasn’t the tiny craft she’d stolen back on Jakku. It was lighter, way too pristine. 

A metallic clatter to her right gained her attention. Turning to face that direction Rey was met by the broad back of a stranger. Alarm washed over her and instinctively reached for her side to grab her quarterstaff but her hand grabbed at nothing. Sitting up straight she looked around the room, trying to find an escape. There was a door next to where the man stood but she’d never make it past without alarming him. 

There was no real easy escape without getting caught. But the intentions of this stranger were still unknown. The potential danger was hard to calculate and especially after just waking up. Maybe, Rey thought, she could talk herself out of the situation. 

“Who are you.” She demanded, her voice raspy and throat dry from the lack of water and use. The stranger didn’t seem alarmed or startled by her, he simply placed something down onto the counter he stood by and turned around to face her. 

For a moment as they looked at one another Rey could feel that same crackle of energy from within. Reaching out. Had she been drugged? Clenching her jaw and huffing out a breath through her nose she cautiously observed him in case he’d suddenly launch at her. But all he did was lean back against the counter, cross his arms over his wide chest and tilt his head to the side, observing her. 

“I could be asking the same question.” His voice was just above a murmur, deep and soothing in a way that scared her. He sounded so collected. “I’m Ben Solo. We found you floating around in deep space in a broken craft. My crew and I took you onto our ship after detecting a life form onboard. We can’t just let those things go unchecked.”

The name didn’t mean anything to her. Neither did she understand the man’s, Ben’s, intentions with checking up on malfunctioning crafts floating around. Sounded a bit like a waste of time. Why would anyone care for a nobody drifting through space? He didn’t seem very threatening but she’d just have to assume the worst and hope for the best for the moment. 

“Who were you hoping to find?” Rey wasn’t daft. She may have grown up without much proper education, but she was smart enough to understand one thing in this situation. Jakku hadn’t exactly been a calm and kind planet to grow up on. And she knew someone was always after something. They must be looking for something or someone. 

However, Ben just shrugged. “No one in particular. But in case you were a part of the resistance it’d really be a shame to let you die. We need all our allies. And if you were from the first order, we’d gladly get any and all information from you.” He nodded towards her, gesturing with a hand towards her as well. “So, are you someone we’d want to find?”

Rey was still unsure if this man was to trust or not. She’d always been good at reading people so it annoyed her that she couldn’t seem to do it at this moment. But she was definitely not anyone they were looking for by the sounds of it so maybe they’d let her fix her craft and leave without trouble. 

“I’m nobody…” It wasn’t a lie. Just a parentless scavenger from Jakku. 

“Everyone’s somebody. So tell me, who are you?” 

“Rey.” She snapped, offering a glare that probably didn’t hold as much spite and fire as she’d hoped it would. 

“Rey?” He tried, pushing off the counter and taking a step closer. 

“Just Rey.” 

Ben nodded slowly, eyes looking over her with a look she couldn’t read. Maybe curiosity. “Well, just Rey, why were you drifting around in that piece of junk. Barley grasping onto life?”

Annoyance bubbled up in her core as he circled the bed. She quickly noted that the entryway was no longer blocked and she could make a run for. Why would she have to tell this man about her reasons for leaving. 

“And what’s in it for me, to tell you.” She rolled her ankles, feeling a little stiff but no pain. He must’ve healed her with something really high tech because her body felt almost abnormally recovered. But then again, the med bay she was in looked rather high tech and she’s only have to do with wrapping deep wounds or sprained bones with scraps of fabric. 

“Just wondering. The craft obviously isn’t, if to put it lightly, travel worthy for long distances. Too small to store enough food for the type of travel you seem to be on. Not to mention small fuel tanks and practically falling apart. Rose was able to figure out the distance you’ve traveled which pinpoints you to Jakku, Niima outpost. Either you were lucky and scavenged the parts and built something yourself, or you stole it. And considering the state of the craft you hurried to take the first best thing you could find.” Ben shrugged nonchalantly, typing something into a holopad attached to the wall. “So, just Rey...why were you in a hurry to leave Jakku?”

Rey had turned to stare at him, glaring really. He was calculating and clever. And considering his questions, probably high profile. The hissing of the door sliding open had her whip her head back around, only to be greeted by another man who seemed just a little shocked to see her. 

“I uhm… got the food.” Eyes shifting from her to Ben he walked inside, cautious to approach her. The two men seemed to have a quick conversation just by eye contact before he placed a tray on the foot of her hospital bed. 

“Thank you Finn. We should be joining you all soon. Did Rose find any clothes for her?” 

“Yeah she had them laid out in the common quarters. Should I go get them?” Ben shook his head and offered the other man a smile. “No it’s fine, we’ll fix that later. You can leave the rest of her belongings there as well. Thank you Finn.”

Once they were left alone again her eyes drifted to the tray. A bowl of something thick and a tall glass of water. Rey felt her stomach clench at the thought of actual cooked food. She couldn’t recall ever eating anything else than the rations. 

“You can eat and use the fresher once you’re done. I’ll go and get your things and leave them outside the fresher for you to take. Afterwards you can meet the rest of the crew.” Rey notes the way he walked with confidence towards the door and pressed a button to open it and with a last glance over his shoulder she was left alone. She never heard the sound of a lock, only his heavy footsteps fading away. 

Slowly sliding off the bed she was surprised to find herself standing steadily on her feet. Whatever they fixed her with it worked wonders. However, her thirst and hunger was still present. She wondered what they had to gain by helping her. Since they had nurses her back to health there wasn’t a high chance of them poisoning or drugging her, that would feel counterproductive. 

Rey took the glass of water and sniffed it before taking a small sip before practically downing the whole thing, drops of water running down the corner of her mouth. Wiping her lips with the back of her hand she walked around the room, examining the cupboards and drawers. She only found what she assumed was medical supplies, nothing too suspicious. 

Returning to the bed she took the bowl, watching steam rise from the thick consistency. Stirring it around with the spoon provided for her the smell finally hit her, making her mouth water. She couldn’t even recall when she had a warm meal. Taking a spoon full she began eating, trying not to shove it all down her throat too quickly. 

But unfortunately she did finish the bowl much quicker than she’d liked. Only finding herself even more hungry than before. He mentioned a fresher too.. She definitely could do with a through wash. 

She waited until she had stepped into the booth to undress, leaving her dirty clothes in a pile to the side. Looking over her body she instantly noticed the scrapes on her knees and the scar on her right thigh from a particularly ugly fall had completely faded. With furrowed brows she undid her hair, tossing the ties on her pile of clothes. 

As far as she knew scars didn’t just heal. And it was old, from several years ago. So there would be no reason to heal it. Neither did it seem like she’d been undressed for the procedure so he couldn’t know about the scar. Something wasn’t adding up…

After a bit of tinkering she finally got the water running, letting out a gasp as hot water sprayed over her nude body. It felt like the blazing sun in the Jakku desert, but more soothing. The warm water wrapped around her like a comforting blanket. 

It feels… nice..

Rey took her sweet time scrubbing every inch of herself clean, watching as dirt and grime swirled down the drain between her feet. When massaging soap into her hair to rid the dirt she felt that same strange tug from within as she had done when waking up. Pausing her vigorous movements she listened carefully as the door opened and closed. 

Must’ve been her natural instincts at play. That small awareness of another presence around her. That would explain the feeling earlier too. Shrugging it off, Rey finished up in the fresher, feeling reluctant to leave the hot running water. 

Ben has said something about leaving clothes outside for her, so she peeled out of the booth and sure enough, on the bed she’d woken up on was a pile of clothes as well as her own belongings. Hurrying up to pull the pants and shirt on she scanned her belongings. Everything seemed to be there, even her staff. Either they underestimated her fighting skills or they truly didn’t see her as a threat. Only an idiot would give an assumed enemy their weapon. 

The clothes fit fine, the pants were a little short by the ankles but she didn’t complain, they were soft against her newly washed skin. Taking her belt and securing it around her waist along with her bag she also grabbed her staff, hanging it over her shoulder. 

They had mentioned her craft was broken so making a dash for and escaping wasn’t on the agenda any longer. She’d have to stick around for a little while longer. But maybe they would help her get a new one. Hopefully. 

Rey wasn’t really sure what she expected when she pressed the button by the door and it opened without issue. Maybe an alarm to go off, for someone to guard her from the outside or to remain closed. But it easily slid open and she took a step out into the narrow corridor. 

She could hear several voices down to her left and instinctively she moved to the right but stopped when someone rounded the corner. “Oh hi! You must be Rey then!” It was a woman, a bit shorter than herself. Pressing her lips together into a thin line she just gave a slight nod. “Hmm… the clothes don’t seem to fit all that well. A little short but they will do I suppose! I’m sure we’ll find something better.”

If these were her clothes that she wore the woman had to be Rose. “They’re fine. I’m sure I could wear my clothes again.” Rose nodded, a kind smile plastered on her face as she got closer, putting a hand on her elbow. 

“I’ll have that arranged then! Ben said you’d be joining us in the common room for some drinks! I’ll show you there if you’re ready?” She looked at her expectantly and what objections did Rey have in this moment? So with another small nod, Rose led her to the left and into a big room with a table in the middle with ten seats. 

“She lives!” A man announced, a big grin on his face and slapped Finn on the back. “You had us kinda frightened there.”

Rose motioned for her to sit in a chair, tapping the staff and asking if she should put it to the side, but Rey shook her head, simply sliding it off her shoulder and leaning it on the chair next to her. 

“So Rey,” the same man spoke. “That was quite the tight spot we found you in. Feeling any better, yeah?”

“I’m ….alright. A bit disoriented.” They all seemed to nod in pity and understanding. After all they had probably seen her dirty and unconscious in her craft. And if they knew she had come from Jakku, they probably knew more of her journey she’d yet to tell. She wondered if they knew more about her journey than her.

“Do you...know for how long you were out of it?” He spoke up again and looked at her fiddling hands where she rested them atop the table. She wasn’t sure what she expected from the crew but they didn’t trigger her fight or flight response which had to mean they were pretty okay. 

“How would I?” It felt like a dumb question. How would she know for how long she was passed out for. But no one seemed to correct him either so maybe she was just a bit out of it still. 

“Poe. Don’t interrogate her.” Ben murmured against his hands that he leaned his head on and nodded at another girl who came to join them, handing out cups of something warm. Straightening out he grabbed the cup and took a sip. 

Scoffing she looked down into the cup, the smell didn’t really appeal to her. “Isn’t that exactly what you did a while ago?” The woman handing out the drinks laughed out loud and sat down next to her, slapping her shoulder once with a big grin that triggered Rey into smiling as well. 

“Yeah what about that Ben? Didn’t you say we were gonna let her rest first?” 

“Shut it Kaydel.” There was no malice behind the words however, Rey noticed. Ben only rolled his eyes and smiled as he drank from his cup. The dynamic between all of them seemed rather playful. 

“It’s caff, nothing fancy or anything. Just a little something to get that energy back up!” She took a sip herself before placing it down on the table, leaning back to adjust the two buns her hair was pulled up into. “Though if you don’t like it I’m sure Poe will gladly have another cup.”

“I definitely don’t say no to that.” Poe held his cup up, giving the blonde a wink and leaning back as well. 

“Well, interrogation or not. I thought we’d take this time to get to know each other and we could update Rey on what’s going on with her craft and how long it’s been drifting. Finn?”

“Yeah so… we’re not sure when you blacked out, but you’ve been in there for a while, almost a full month… and telling by how little food and water you had stored you’re really lucky we found you when we did. The craft broke down three weeks in, do you remember being awake for that?”

“I remember having issues with the thrusters so I was going to rewire a few things to boost them. Worked so-so, a little choppy still. Though I couldn’t do more from inside the craft. Some time later the light went off and after trying to change it I went to take a nap and…I think that’s the last thing I remember.”

“Must be around the same time then it seems like. According to the computer log at least. But Ben said that you didn’t seem to be in as bad of shape as you should’ve been. Did you live your whole life on Jakku? I mean like, they don’t have the best medical supplies, I’d assume you don’t have any vaccines.”

“No. No vaccines. Medical supplies are too expensive and hard to find. Did you give me any vaccines now?” Her attention shifted to Ben who shook his head. 

“Not unless you’d want to. Plus it's a bit of a waste in case you already were. We’ll fix that later once you’re back to health if it’s something that would interest you.”

“We’ll see.” Maybe getting things injected into her by strangers wasn’t the best thing to put in a survival guide. She tried a little of the drink, face twisting up in distaste. It was terribly bitter! Definitely not anything for her. The group around the table laughed quietly at her reaction. “Poe did you want this?” She asked eventually. 

“Scoot it over sweetheart.” Not commenting on the nickname Rey leaned over the table a bit to push it over to where he sat. “Don’t mind Dameron, calls everyone under the sun sweetheart.” Kaydel said quietly. “You want something else? Water?” Rey only nodded. These people were rather enjoyable company. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


The bed had been almost too soft. It felt uncomfortably soft. She’d tossed and turned for hours trying to get comfortable just like the two nights before, but failing until exhaustion became too grand and she fell asleep with her back pressed up against the wall, curled up and a hand on her staff. 

But there hadn’t been many hours of sleep. She’d woken up maybe a few hours later and been unable to fall back asleep. A part of her was fearing she’d wake up back on the broken craft, or worse, the AT-AT she used as housing back on Jakku. It hadn’t scared her much on the desert planet, the thought of dying without being known of or missed, as a nobody. But silently drifting around space, no destination or purpose. Dead in the depth of space. That did scare her now. 

It troubled her how this Ben had read her. As if he knew more about her than herself. She hated when other people had the upper hand. Sure she’d lived her whole life being an underdog, but her cleverness and skill had gotten her far and often given her the upper hand. Having the roles reversed left her a bit shaken. She really didn’t like it. 

Rey stared at the grey ceiling, running her fingers along the zipper of a jacket Poe had dug out from somewhere. She mentioned she was used to the warmth of Jakku and the shuttle was a little drafty, so he’d been kind enough to dig this out from somewhere. It seemed to be an old pilot jacket with a symbol embroidered to the left chest pocket. 

She’d learned that the crew were part of the resistance. Out on mission to check in on a few rebel bases on order from general Leia Organa. So it did make sense why they’d be concerned with a strange craft relatively close to a recently destroyed base. However, unfortunately they hadn’t found any survivors and when finding her craft were both hoping and dreading what was inside. 

Maybe they’d hoped it’d been a first order member that they could interrogate and withdraw information from to send back to the general. Someone useful that could give them the upper hand. Or a resistance fighter who managed to get away just in time. Instead they stumbled upon a nobody. 

Poe had however assured her they were pleased to find her, “rather you than a snooty stuck up first order soldier”, he’d said with the biggest smile and placed a hand over the emblem on her jacket. She really liked the crew, even if it’d only been a few days, Rey had gotten to know them a bit more and they all were such unique people. 

Seeing them work around the ship, some days wearing the same type of symbol as the one on the jacket she wore, made her feel like she had a place to belong to for the first time in her life. While wearing it made her feel a sense of belonging, it also felt wrong. Rey hadn’t done anything to deserve wearing a symbol that meant so much hope for the galaxy. 

Finn had said that there was always space for new recruits at the base, and Rey did consider. But it was just an offer hanging in the air. 

Rey wasn’t sure what she had tried to do even when leaving Jakku. She’d been fed up with the constant uncertainty, fear and loneliness. And one day after counting the markings on the wall, she began to realize that her parents weren’t coming back. After that it went so fast, so many emotions and questions circling in her head. 

What if she did leave and the second she got off Jakku, they returned?

Where would she go?

What if her parents got hurt trying to look for her?

Could she really handle a craft all by herself?

Would her parents come back and think she was dead?

  
  


So many doubts. A whole life full of them. It had taken another 8 days until she had packed her few belongings she deemed important and decided she needed to leave. Packing down the saved up portions I’m a separate sling bag, she took her speeder and three one last look at the AT-AT that had been her home. Rey had already decided on a craft that had been parked at the Niima outpost for a while. It was Plutt’s and for as long as she remembered she’d never seen it fly, but it was rather large and hopefully would work as housing wherever she landed down. 

Partially she decided on that lump of metal junk out of spite, wanting to inconvenience Plutt. But unfortunately some henchmen had followed her to the craft when noticing her sneak towards it and even if she was able to fight them off, and get out of there with nothing more than a few scratches, more approached and she’d ended up too far away. So she took the closest thing she found. 

It had gotten her away. But after a while things turned...complicated. 

Turning over in the bed she sat and reached for her boots, sliding her feet in. She couldn’t fall asleep and her thoughts were troubling to say the least. Might as well do something that could get her mind off her current situation and troubles. 

Making way down the hall towards the docking bay where they kept the broken down craft Rey kept her head down to follow the glowing lines showing the outline of the corridors. Rose had told her there was no way they would be able to get that thing going again, but that didn’t mean she could find some parts that could still be for good use. 

After finding out that she wasn’t a threat, not like they’d assume she was from the beginning either way, they let her walk around as she pleased. 

Gathering a few tools from the tool table and a flashlight from the wall she crawled inside. Rey could turn on the lights, but she also didn’t wish to disturb anyone else who tried to sleep even if they all had their separate quarters quite the distance from the docking bay. Not like she was used to the convenience of being able to turn lights on and off when scavenging. It was almost easier to do it in the dark, so she decided against it. 

With a wrench in hand Rey worked on a part she knew would be worth at least three portions. Would’ve been useful when saving up for her escape. Muttering under her breath she managed to get it out of the control panel, tossing it to the seat and getting to work on the next one. 

For some reason it felt calming doing something she was used to. It kept her mind off of her troubled past and uncertain future. Instead she was calculating how to get the parts out, figuring out their worth and tinkering. It’d always been a good distraction during the long hot days at Jakku. 

Worrying her bottom lip between her teeth Rey slowly wriggled a piece out of the wall to get behind it. Eventually it came loose and as she carelessly tossed it to the floor she heard a chuckle from outside the craft. 

“I hope you’re not planning on doing this to our ship as well.” Rey turned to face Ben who stood outside the narrow entrance with a smirk tugging at his lips. “Can’t sleep?” He continued, sounding a bit concerned, if she didn’t mistake the tone of his voice for something else. 

“Not really... It’d be a waste to not grab what’s still useful.” Turning back to her work she reached inside, shining around with the flashlight to look for anything good, but nothing more than wires greeted her behind the metal wall. With a disappointed sigh she turned away. 

“You’re not going to recover fully if you don’t rest enough.” She didn’t answer, simply working on the control panel again, prying it open with her hands and a few heaves with the wrench. Ben stayed crouched outside the door, watching her work for a while. Rey huffed a breath as she got it open but she had to hold it up for it not to fall back down. Grabbing a piece of machinery she tore off without value earlier she used it to prop the panel up, but it kept falling over. 

That’s when Ben presses his way into the craft, struggling to get inside for a moment before he managed to worm his way in and uncomfortably, by the looks of it, sit down on the other side of the control panel. He grabbed it and held it all the way open for her so she could work properly. 

Sending him a quick smile she leaned over to dig into the wiring, pulling out parts easily and tossing them to the seat along with her other treasures. Other pieces ended up on the floor. 

“We could get you a new craft back at the base, you know. Unless you’d want to stick around and join the resistance, that is.”

Using a tong she managed to get a good piece out and hummed in response as she thought of his offer. Could she join the rebellion? What did she have to offer them? And what would they have to offer her? But then again, what was she supposed to do? Where would she be going if they gave her a craft? Her mind began to spiral again. 

She did like the company of the people around her a lot. It made her feel significantly less lonely. Kaydel had helped her clean her clothes and bag, sparking up some conversation about how she’d managed to get her hands on it. 

Finn made sure she ate and showed her where she could find more after she’d asked for seconds last night. He also showed her how to make porridge since her body was still getting used to normal food. Finn handed her a handful of dried up meat before sending her off to her quarters, telling her it was his favorite. 

Rose had shown her around the entire ship so she could find her way around by herself and explained how to use the holopad. She’d also been the one who checked up on her health and made sure she felt comfortable wherever and whenever. 

Poe had told her to add a few things to the caff to make it for her taste better and after adding some milk from a creature she didn’t remember the name off of tasted just fine. He’d also let her sit in the co-pilot seat for a while before dinner, asking how she learned how to fly when she mentioned she was an okay skilled pilot. 

She got along fine with the crew, all of them incredibly kind and it felt nice to have consistent connection to other people. Good people that care for her. 

Ben however still puzzled her. Something about him was pulling her in and she didn’t understand it. He wasn’t doing more than the rest of the crew to gain her attention neither did he go out of his way to give it to her. That same strange pull from within that she felt when waking up here always flared up when he was in the room. 

It wasn’t too much of an issue, but no matter how much she thought of it she couldn’t understand why.

However, she wouldn’t let something so minor wash out the fact that she had found something to be considered friends. She’d probably be better off joining the resistance, she’d even get to be around these people. But there would be another few days until they would reach the base, she had time to decide. Even though she probably already knew what she would do. 

“I’ll think about it.” 

When she glanced over to Ben, he simply nodded and offered to hold the flashlight so she could work easier. Rey handed it over and the split second their fingers touched, it felt electric, making her skin tingle and she let out the smallest gasp at the sensation. Must be the dry air machinery. Without giving it much more thought she went back to work. 

Ben seemed to reach too, a sharp intake of breath, brows furrowing for a moment before they smoothed out again. 

“I don’t mean to upset you more but...why did you leave Jakku? I mean, except it being Jakku.” Rey snorted a laugh and moved to another part closer to where Ben was seated. “You don’t have to answer, just trying to understand why you’d put your life in jeopardy to leave.”

That pull felt stronger, as if telling her to open up, coaxing her to tell Ben. Just like the electric shock from just a moment ago, it made her skin tingle. Now when knowing the crew better she wouldn’t have an issue telling any of them really, she trusted them to some extent. But something within Rey told her that it was safe to tell him, that he’d understand. 

“I got fed up.” She said simply, absentmindedly continuing her work as if on autopilot. “My parents left me on Jakku when I was young and… I have this memory of them saying they’d be back...so I stuck around waiting for so long…” Trailing off her hands stopped working for a moment. “I came to terms with that they probably will never come back. I still wonder if the moment I left, they did come back for me… or maybe I just like to imagine they actually would come back.”

Rey could feel the sympathy rolling off of Ben at her confession. It was almost overwhelming for her so she shook her head and went back to work, pulling out a few cooling parts that were in rather bad shape. “As for the craft, I had planned on another one, one I knew belonged to Unkar Plutt. But his thugs spotted me getting in so I had to fight my way through them and slip into another craft when I ended up too far from the originally planned one with more of them running up to me. This pile of junk took off and i didn’t look back.”

Sniffling she wiped some oil from her cheek with the back of her hand and shrugged. “I used to work under Plutt. Then I became a scavenger and eventually I worked on my own. I usually don’t get corrected for stepping out of line… but if Plutt found out I was trying to steal his YT-1300 light freighter I was in for it. So getting away was even higher up on the agenda than what type of craft I could get my hands on in that moment. I had already made up my mind to leave and I wasn’t going to stick around to have Plutt have his band of thugs beat me up for stepping out of line.”

Dropping a handful of rolled up wire into her pile she leaned back, making eye contact with Ben again who watched her closely. “It—it does terrify me that I almost died out there without knowing anything else but the barren lands of Jakku. But, at least I would’ve gone knowing at least I tried.” 

Ben dropped the panel back down gently, tilting his head just like the day she woke up as he observed her. “You didn’t die out there though.” Rey blinked up at him. “You made it out of there and we found you. Maybe it was sheer dumb luck, but your story hasn’t come to an end yet. We’ll help you no matter if you decide to leave or stay.”

Rey dropped her gaze to the resistance emblem embroidered onto the chest pocket of his jacket. Stay… without thinking her hand slowly reached up to touch the same one that was mirrored on her jacket. 

Even though she’d not been around for long, the thought of being alone again made her heart sink. “Yeah. I’ll figure it out.” Leaving now though, would probably make the loneliness even more prominent. It was never a good idea getting a taste of what you longed for and having it taken away. 

Ben nodded, looking down between them first onto where her hand rested on her pocket, then her pile of parts. “I’ll go find a bag for you to store this in.” And with that he slipped out of the craft, a bit more gracefully than he had entered and soon returned with a drawstring bag and handed it to her. 

Rey felt her breath hitch in her throat again as their fingers brushed as she accepted the bag. That feeling flaring up not only from within her but around her. It felt so calm and serene for that split second before he pulled back. 

“I’ll be getting breakfast started, you can come join me after you’re done.” Ben left after offering her a smile and Rey shoved the pieces into the bag, a crease etching itself between her brows. 

This… feeling inside her had to be something else, but what was it?

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Ben had offered to spar with her after lunch, they had a small room that she’d visited a few times earlier when feeling restless. But she had mentioned never actually training with another person before. All her combat skills were purely the after affect of working in action. She’d learnt the hard way that if she’d not be able to block a certain blow, she wouldn’t be able to walk properly for a few days. 

Not many of them had expertise in hand to hand combat or fighting without a blaster. Ben had been the only one to have skills in that area so he’d offered to blow off some steam with her. Kaydel has given him a look at his choice of words and Poe had mumbled “what are they blowing?” only to have Rose elbow him hard in the side. 

So after lunch she went to grab her staff and began warming up in the training hall as Ben finished off sending a report to General Organa. After all, they would be arriving at the base soon so she wanted to make sure everything was going smoothly and no one followed them. Ben had also told her that Leia would like to talk to her once they landed. It wasn’t anything serious, just a check in to see where she stood on the idea of staying. 

At this point Rey had pretty much decided to stay already. But talking to the general would probably help steer her in the right direction within the resistance. 

Spinning her staff with trained expertise around her body, Rey only threw it up in the air, still spinning, and caught it midair when Ben entered the hall. He already had a sparring sword in his left hand. “Haven’t used this in ages, it’s way heavier than I remembered.” 

“Will it be an issue?” 

“No. Not really. Ready when you are.” 

Rey watched as he twirled the sword around his hand once, grabbing the hilt securely in his gloved hand. “Ready.” Sinking down into a defensive position she got ready. They had already established that they would go at an easier phase at first just to figure out how the other moved. Since it wasn’t a real battle, it’d be more fun if they could keep it up to an even match without hurting one another. 

Rey had fought off people with similar weapons before, but close to all weapons on Jakku used by people like her were self made. Ben however seemed unbothered by her wielding a staff rather than a sword similar to his. 

“I’ve never seen your actual sword.” She commented, thrusting her staff out towards his chest to have him jump back, creating more space between them. “But I guess you don’t need it walking around the ship.” 

“Not really no.” Walking in a circle around her, Ben shrugged his shoulders, Rey copying his movement closely, ready to either strike or block. “It’s not really fit for a fight like this.”

Rey was about to ask what type of high tech sword he used in that case, if it’d send her flying through the wall if he hit her hard enough, but Ben spun around, sending the sword towards her right shoulder. Quickly blocking it she had to work even faster with blocking the next blow that came to her left. 

In the blink of an eye he’d moved behind her, aiming to strike with the tip of the blade against her lower back. Rey felt a shiver go through her body and dropped to the floor, swirling around with her staff outstretched. It made contact with his shins and Ben came falling to the ground, his back making a thud against the mat and a grunt escaping him at impact. 

Standing back up, leaning against the quarterstaff she smiled triumphantly down at Ben who frowned up at her. “That was a cheap move.” 

“We didn’t say that it wasn’t allowed.” Rey couldn't stop smiling, it was fun sparring and she took even greater pleasure in winning. Ben heaved his way back up onto his feet, rolled his neck before getting ready again. 

“So you like fighting dirty then?” In response Rey lifted her staff, striking from overhead but Ben blocked it swiftly, catching her staff on his cross guard. Gritting her teeth she pushed harder, moving closer to him as she did. “I grew up on Jakku, Ben. The only way I know how to fight is dirty.” 

“If that’s how you want it.” He murmured and before Rey could react, she felt Ben hook his foot behind hers and she lost her balance and fell backwards with a yelp. 

“Ow…” She muttered and sent a glare up to her opponent who held her staff in one hand and his practice sword in the other. “Just because I trained for years perfecting fighting with weapons doesn’t mean I can’t and won’t do the same.”

Rey rolled her eyes and got back up, taking back the staff that he held out for her. “So do all resistance fighters get classically trained in close combat or just those with an attitude?” Going right into it she sent a few quick hits towards his shoulder then abdomen, but still no hit. 

Even though Ben was big and broad he moved with such grace it was baffling to her. He was almost a head taller than her and definitely intimidatingly built. Maker, Ben’s biceps were probably the size of her thighs. Being so huge should make it easier to get a good hit in, but then there was his damn light feet where he’d just glide to the side whenever she was about to strike like it was nothing. 

“Not really, you’d usually just join a group where your previous expertise is fitting.” For a while he fought on the defence until Rey realized she was tiring out and it’d make it easier for him to take her down a second time. “My training is from time as a Padawan at the Jedi temple.”

Stopping mid block she looked up from where their weapons met to his deep brown eyes in shock. “You’re a Jedi?” Ben shook his head, backing off and twirling his sword before gently tossing it up to catch the hilt in a way so the blade pointed backwards rather than forward. 

“I trained to be, there isn’t really a whole bunch of Jedi left. Just my uncle Luke who went and disappeared, I’ve finished my training but I wouldn’t call myself a Jedi.”

“Your uncle?” The fight was completely forgotten for a moment; she just stared at the man in front of her. “Luke Skywalker is your uncle? But….that would make general Organa—“

“My mom, yes.” Unbelievable. Rey couldn’t wrap her mind around how the man in front of her was the son of a woman she’d heard so many fantastic stories about throughout her youth. The youngest elected senator in the imperial senate. Princess of Alderaan and general for the resistance. The nephew of the legend Luke Skywalker. The man who saved the galaxy. 

What were the chances that he’d found her floating around space? Ben Solo, son to Leia Organa and supposed Jedi. She shook her head and flexed her clammy stiff hands that gripped her staff a little too tightly still. 

“A bit unfair that you got all this training then don’t you think?” Rey mumbled and smiled a bit at the way Ben chuckled in response. “So you...you got one of those uhm…. laser swords? Is that what that is a substitute for?”

“Uh-huh. I’ve got a lightsaber. Kind of inconvenient using it against anything else though, we can’t get our hands on equipment that easily. Can’t cut through too much.” Holding his sword back up she nodded and readied herself. 

“I can see that. You do understand though how surreal it sounds for me that you are related to people I thought of as legends for years back home? And here you are speaking about them so casually.”

“In my own defence, they are my family. Even if Luke is pretty much up in smoke.” Their sparring started up again, Ben being the one to strike first. “You’ll probably be talking to Leia once we land, she seemed interested in speaking to you when I sent in a report.” 

“I’d be honoured.” She must’ve gotten distracted after the first five blocked blows because the sparring sword made contact with her left shoulder. 

“Sorry, thought you were ready for that one.” Even if Ben showed concern the grin on his lips seemed very much pleased that he finally got a hit in. “To be fair, I do think you’re putting up quite a good fight. Even if you aren’t, how did you put it? Classically trained.”

Ignoring the comment Rey simply smiled and tilted her head to the side, giggling quietly. “Does this mean I’ll have to call you prince Solo from now on?”

When Ben groaned in annoyance and the tips of his ears dusted pink Rey’s smile grew wider, knowing she must’ve touched an embarrassing topic. “I don’t have a title like that! Please don’t call me that….it took me years to get Poe to stop calling me that.” He muttered. 

“Then I’m sure I could convince him to do it again.” Ben glared at her and all Rey could do was grin widely, turning around to strike against his shoulder, almost getting a hit in. 

“Don’t…” With his brows furrowed in concentration he pushed her off, getting some distance between them. “I don’t need any title like that, I’m just Ben.”

“How fitting, just Ben.” Rey mused, managing to disarm him for a moment before he got the sword back up before it even hit the ground. 

Their weapons clashed again, their faces so close that Rey could see a small faint scar under his lip as they pressed forward to get the upper hand. “It is, isn’t it, just Rey.” 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Rey woke up shaking, gasping for air as she bolted straight up. Frantically looking around she managed to calm down just a bit as the familiar surroundings reminded her she was still on the ship. Running her trembling hands over her face she let out a shaky breath, trying her best to get her breathing back to normal. 

Bad dreams weren’t something foreign to her, but this one felt odd. It had been way too real and she could remember every tiny detail so clearly. 

Ben had been there, but younger, dressed in white robes. In the distance she saw a group of other youngsters running around and laughing. But when turning back to Ben who was sitting alone in a dark corner of a room she didn’t remember entering. Whispers clouded her mind. A voice that sent unpleasant shivers down her spine, cooling her to the bone. He’d seemed scared of the voice of someone neither of them could see. It kept on repeating that his parents didn’t love him, that he was destined for more. 

It had spoken to her as well, everything around her turning pitch black as it spoke to her directly and suddenly, she felt like she was falling. Desperate to find something to grab onto before hitting the ground Rey reached out, only for the feeling to abruptly stop. 

She’d found herself in a series of tunnels, voices whispering further down, coaxing her closer. Slowly as she got closer they got louder. Louder and louder. Until she got to the room with only a chest inside. They too seemed to be heard from inside her own mind, but they didn’t feel as intrusive. 

Just as she reached out, intent on opening it to see what was inside, a bone chilling voice cackled at her, and she once again was in another place. A blood red room with intimidating guards pointing their weapons at her. “Stupid girl.” The voice gravelled, making her feel slightly nauseous. 

She could see the silhouette of someone in the front of the room, sitting on a throne drenched in darkness. He reached his hand out, and her body went stiff as pain flooded her system, head pounding as she tried to fight it off. “Give. Me. Skywalker.” Screaming in pain she was then dropped to the floor. 

“Hey, Rey? You okay in there?” It was Kaydel’s voice on the other side of the door. Swallowing down the fear that still lingered she responded. “Yeah, just a bad dream.”

“Okay, tell me if you need anything, goodnight!” Rey had no idea how long she’d slept or how long it was until they were supposed to rise from bed. But she would not be able to go back to sleep. She didn’t dare to. 

Her old craft was completely picked apart so she couldn’t work on that anymore, which was what led her to the kitchen. Finn had been showing her a few things she could make but Rey wasn’t exactly up to the task of cooking something grand. She’d grab some of the herbs and cook them in warm water to drink. Finn had said it was quite tasty and not as bitter as the caff. 

With her jacket wrapped around her body Rey walked barefoot along the cool metal floor of the ship. When turning the corner to the kitchen she heard the sound of a cup being placed on the counter. Peeking around at first she was met by the broad back of Ben as he leaned over the sink. 

Walking in she placed a hand on the doorframe. “Do you ever sleep?” Ben looked over his shoulder, chuckling quietly as he turned back. “Sometimes.” 

Rey stood there for a while, watching him as he turned in the faucet and splashed water in his face, patting it in. “So, why are you up?”

“Nightmare.” 

“You too then.”

Ben ran a hand over his face before turning to her, something in his eyes spoke of trouble and maybe even sorrow. If he’d also suffered a nightmare anything like hers she well understood if he had troubles sleeping. And telling by the look in his eyes, he very much had. 

“Would you prefer it if I left?” 

“No.” He turned back around to grab another cup and filled it with water. “My thoughts tend to wander to more unpleasant ones when I’m left alone with them. You’re more than welcome to sit with me for a moment.” Holding up the cup as an offer she walked in and accepted it. 

“I was going to attempt something that Finn suggested. To boil water with herbs.” Taking a sip of the cool water she put it down to look for a pot to boil it in. 

“Could you make that for two?” Something in Ben’s eyes reminded her of the young version of him she’d seen in her dream. Scared and uncertain. The dream must’ve shaken him up quite a bit. 

“Of course, I would need some help with this, I haven’t cooked before. I’ve only watched Finn and Rose do it.” Rey felt accomplishment as she managed to make the other smile, a gentle laugh and a head shake to show his amusement. 

“I’d prefer not to have the ship burn down before we set down at the base. I’ll teach you.” 

“So I’m allowed to burn this thing down after we land then?” Ben gave her a look as he prepared to boil the water, then let her take over and made sure to make a comment on how not to burn anything. “Maybe I’ll allow it.” 

After a while, the two of them sat down at the dining table with their steaming warm drinks in hand. Rey decided that she liked this much more than that bitter caff. This was more soothing and actually enjoyable. 

For a moment all they did was enjoy the hot drinks in peace before Ben spoke, such gentleness and care to his voice it warmed her more than the herbs. “Your dream...what was it about?” His approach seemed very careful not to upset her more. 

It was hard to explain. The nightmare didn’t seem to have a consistent theme. Just horrible and frightening events and feelings. The only thing that seemed clear was how real it had felt. “Before I woke up I was in this red room, I was in so much pain it almost felt real. There was a ….creature there...a man I think. He told me to bring him Skywalker.”

She trailed off for a moment, eyes locked onto the clear green liquid in her cup. Long enough that she missed the tense look Ben had, how his back stiffened and hands gripped the cup tighter. 

“You were in my dream too. Only...younger. I think it was you at least, you uhm..you had the same ears.” She blushed at the realisation that that was how she had been so certain it was Ben. “I think that voice belonged to that man, he spoke to the both of us. Horrible things…he—he said——” 

“Rey.” Looking up at the sound of her name she finally noticed how troubled Ben seemed. Furrowing her brows in consearn Rey put the cup down. Genuine fear and surprise glances over his usually warm eyes. Had she said something wrong? “Ben?”

“It seems we had quite….. similar themes in our dreams. Pretty much the same.” 

“What do you mean?”

“The red room you dreamt of. Was the man sitting on a throne, protected by guards dressed in red as well?” If Rey hadn’t been sitting down already she was sure her knees would give up under her. 

“Yes.. “ Her voice felt strained when she spoke, as if she wanted to deny that it had been the same scene. It possibly couldn’t be.. they hadn’t visited such a place. 

“You dreamt of supreme leader Snoke… so did I. And you...I dreamt of you.. as a young kid back on Jakku when your parents left.” Rey flinched, tears burning her eyes and threatening to spill over. She knew she told him about them abandoning her. But somehow she felt that he knew exactly what had happened. He had seen it. 

“Rey are you familiar with the force?”

“The force?” 

She’d heard of the force. A power that the Jedi could utilise in battle for their advantage. What Luke Skywalker was able to use. So many of the stories about him spoke of the force. If Ben was also supposed to be a Jedi, he too could control it. After all Luke had been the one to train him. But she didn’t know much more. 

“I’ve heard of it.” She said quietly, picking up her cup with trembling hands. Bringing it up to her lips it stayed there, something stopping her from being able to drink. 

“I think you may be force sensitive Rey. I’m pretty sure I felt it when I healed you after we brought you into the ship. I used the force to do it and I could feel… something responding. But I haven’t really used this skill before so I figured that maybe it was normal.” Ben placed his own cup down, reaching a hand out and placing it over her’s, gently pushing her cup down to the table again. 

“Rey… I don’t think it was a regular nightmare. You saw me in my youth when Snoke reached out to me in an attempt to turn me to the dark side. Playing on my weaknesses and doubts. If you saw him in this vision… if we shared a vision… there’s a chance he’d try to do the same to you.”

“Why would he want that? Ben… if that’s the case, I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to stop it.”

“I’ll help you.” Rey felt it again, she’d gotten so used to the tingling feeling when they touched she’d almost forgotten that it was a bit peculiar. But there it was, as clear as day. And for a moment Rey thought she might know what it was. It must be the force. 


	2. awakening

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's chapter 2!! hope y'all enjoy and both kudos and comments are appreciated!

Ben had walked Rey back to her quarters awhile ago, promising her he’d tell her more after she’d gotten a few more hours of sleep. She’d seemed nervous to go back to sleep in case of the same vision returning. But after a little convincing she agreed and bid him goodnight, a little more calm. 

However sleep was totally out of the question for him. There were too many questions circling around in his head as to why her force signature felt so different than that of others. It had been faint when he had gotten her out of her craft and carried her down to the med bay. 

But when he’d let his hand cup the back of her neck and on top of her stomach as he did an attempt to use the force to heal her, it felt as if it reached out. A question that wanted an answer, but he was unsure of what that question was exactly. 

He had been sure she knew and simply chose not to tell him. Why would she? It didn’t have anything to do with her escaping Jakku, nor did it fit in anywhere else. But her reaction had been obvious that she wasn’t aware. Neither did she know much about the force, simply thinking of it as fairy tales. 

Rey had told him how strange it felt that all the stories she’d believed to be just legend. For so long the Jedi had seemed more like a other worldly deity than a force sensitive person who trained to control the force. 

For her it had been stories she overheard late at nights, going to bed half starved, dreaming of her parents and an island. For him it had always been there, and when he showed abilities with the force, it didn’t take long until Leia and Han sent him off to study with Luke. The rest of what had happened there truly was history. But not one that Rey had heard of. 

Ben let out a deep sigh as he stared out at the stars passing by when the message receiver beeped, the green light flashing on the control panel. “At this hour…” He muttered, leaning forward to play the holo message. 

His mother appeared, hair braided around her head and clothes fit more for combat than anything else in his opinion. “Ben, I’ve received a message from Han. He had to pick up some first order blueprints and engine parts from Maz Kanata at Takodana but got engine problems and wouldn't be arriving in time.” She sighed and shook her head at the irony in her statement. “I know it’s a bit of a side quest for you, but I’m sure she’d be more than happy to help you with more fuel so you can lightspeed skip right to our coordinates.”

The message stopped and Ben shrugged his shoulders to himself. Not like they were in a hurry, not really. It wouldn’t be an issue going there but he should discuss with the others first. So instead of sending a reply right away he headed to the kitchen, might as well get breakfast going for them all. 

A few hours later the crew began trickling in. First Finn who immediately began helping out with setting the table for them. Then Kaydel who still seemed half asleep as she laid her head on her crossed arms at the table. Apparently she had a strange dream that left her feeling weird and just tired. Rose and Poe came just a minute apart from each other, both heading directly to take a cup of caff before seating themselves. Rey came walking in as they had begun to eat and Ben was pleased to see that she looked well more rested than a few hours ago. 

Maybe she hadn’t slept though, just thought about the situation at hand and mulled over it the last hours. But something in her demeanor was more uplifted. With everyone gathered Ben decided to explain the situation with Han and what they would be picking up. Poe seemed very much interested, explaining that depending on what blueprints they’d receive, he could have a new attack strategy ready before even getting to base. The others didn’t seem opposed to the change of phase as well so it was decided. 

“Looks like we’re going sightseeing Rey! You’re gonna love this place, full of smugglers and all types of interesting characters.” Poe announces, mouth full of bread and Finn looks over at him in disgust. 

“Swallow before you talk! No need to be improper like that.” He scolded, frowning. “But he’s right, it’s one hell of a place, I’ve heard at least, haven’t had the chance to visit myself yet. We don’t really get vacation and usually it’s just Ben who hangs around there.”

“For good reason. It’s a bit of neutral ground. No politics is allowed there and a good place to trade. We wouldn’t be able to get these blueprints anywhere else right now. In such short notice.”

“Sounds like an interesting place.” Rey agreed, trying to visualise how this place would look but her mind was only showing her different types of sand dunes. 

“It’ll take about a day to get there but we’ll be able to get enough fuel to lightspeed slip right back to base.” Kaydel groaned at that, seeming more than happy about the news. “Oh thank god! I can’t wait to go back to planning, I wasn’t fit for journeys like this.”

“Let me remind you that  _ you _ were the one who suggested to Leia that you could follow along.” Rose laughed, downing her second cup of caff. 

Breakfast ended with Ben saying he’d send a message back to Leia, confirming they’d go in Han’s place. Rey dumped her dishes off and Ben walked up to her, a hand gently touching her arm to gain her attention. “I’ll find you afterwards and I’ll tell you a bit more of the force okay?” 

With a smile she nodded. “I’ll be in my bunk for a while then.” They parted ways for the moment and Rey took the time to sit in her bunk, trying to feel that same connection again. She wasn’t sure if it had been a lot of time that passed or not, but after a while the feeling inside her, the force she supposed, tugged at her. Intensity slowly rising. And within a moment, there was a knock on the door and Rey told them to come in. 

Sure enough it was Ben who peeled inside. “You want to talk here or the common area?” Rey thought for a moment before deciding. “I think my room is fine. I mean we’re already here!” Ben nodded in agreement and slipped inside, gently closing the door behind him. 

“So yeah. Not sure where to start. Been a while since I listened to uncle Luke.” Rey smiled, nodding as he pointed to the bed, asking to sit. “But you said that you knew that the Jedi possessed the power to use it. It however does not only belong to the Jedi. It’s all around us and within everyone.”

“Some people, like you and I, are force sensitive which means we can feel it. How it changes. And you can learn how to harness it, concentrate on it, and then use it. Just like the stories you’d heard of Jedi.” Ben continued, pausing to see if she had any questions but she simply nodded, showing that she was listening. 

“The Jedi train in how to use it, learn about ways to use it and gather it from the light side of the force. However, for everything light there’s a dark. Sith are in a way opposite of Jedi. They draw their power from the dark. Sith and Jedi have been fighting for millennia, there’s not many Sith. Usually there aren’t. But there used to be many more Jedi…”

Ben mulled over the dark past of his family, wondering if she knew of those stories as well. “I’ll not go into too much detail about Jedi training. That would take weeks.” He scoffed, shaking his head. 

“So...you mentioned the first order before, when you found me, are they Sith?” Ben shrugged and then nodded. “Yes and no I suppose. The first order is controlled by “the supreme leader” Snoke. He’s not a Sith, but he is skilled in the dark sides of the force… it was him you and I heard in our dreams.” 

Rey furrowed her brows, not liking the thought of some strange evil being invading her dreams as she was at her most vulnerable. “But why?”

“He’s been in my head since I was a kid, trying to sway me to the dark…. got real damn close to succeeding for a while. This however seems to be a form of vision, a glimpse into the future. I don’t think it was Snoke who was in your head. But this might mean he knows who you are, and that you’re also force sensitive...like I said before.”

“And you said you’d teach me how to protect myself.” A smile tugged at his lips and Ben nodded, eyes falling to her hands where she kept them on her crossed legs. 

“I will. I won’t train you to be a Jedi, you’d have to find Luke to talk to my mom about that. But what I know from the force  _ is _ Jedi teachings.” Rey noticed how he looked at her hands and unconsciously her fingers twitched. 

“I feel this… pull inside me. Something I didn’t have before. Is that the force?” Her voice was just above a whisper, seemingly a bit unsure about voicing this strange phenomenon that she’d experienced since she woke up. “I felt it for the first time when I woke up here, in the med bay. Back on Jakku, I never felt anything like this. Is that...normal? To just suddenly feel it?”

“I do admit it’s strange it’s laid dormant for so long. However I’m sure it’s not inward of. But I keep wondering….” Ben looked back up at her hazel eyes full of questions. “If the force within you awoke when i gave some of my life force to you.”

“Would that be possible? Ben, the force seems to react whenever you’re around. It doesn’t do the same with the rest of the crew, but, maybe that’s if they're not force sensitive. I’m still new.” Rey licked her lips. “Do you feel the same?”

“Mhm.. I do. The rest aren’t force sensitive no. But I haven’t felt the same around other force sensitive people before. I’m sure I’d noticed. It’s strange, still. Leia might know something about it, though. We’ll—or,  _ you _ will talk to her once we come back.”

“When we get back…” Rey hummed, looked down at her hands before straightening out. “Ben. I think I’d like to stick around for a while. When we get back to that base.” She laughed and pulled her hair back to tie it from her face. “If you’ll let me.”

Ben chuckled and watched as a few strands from her bangs fell from the knot. Almost instinctively he reached out to tuck it behind her ear but stopped himself. “Well you’re not going to learn about the force in one day. But I think this is enough backstory for today. You got some basic understanding of it. We can do some meditation before picking up the parts and prints tomorrow.”

“Deal.” 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“No  _ way _ .” Rey couldn’t even believe what she was hearing. “ _ You _ were a stormtrooper!” Finn looked a bit sheepish and shrugged as Ben and Poe chuckled from the pilot seats, preparing to enter the airspace of their destination. “That’s insane...and you escaped?” 

“Wouldn’t have without me!” Poe yelled from where he sat, pushing a few buttons to speed up. They were about to land on the resistance base when Kaydel made a joke about Finn’s need to keep the ship so tidy rooted from his time as a stormtrooper and Rey of course needed to hear more. So he told her about how he was taken away as a young child and put through training as a stormtrooper but defected after not being able to go through with the killing of civilians. 

Luckily, that same mission had Poe captured on the same ship as him, so they teamed up to escape. It was such an amazing tale that she could barely believe it. He had then joined the resistance, hoping to put a stop to how the first order kidnapped kids and made them into what most became. 

“I would’ve figured something out without you too Dameron!” He called back, laughing and shaking his head fondly as Poe sent him a wink. 

“Still! That’s so amazing.” Rey gushed, grinning from ear to ear. “Well, you’re quite amazing you too peanut.” Finn praised, using the nickname he’d given her while she’d helped him fix a problem with the beacon the other day when they realized they had a fuzzy connection with it. 

“Aww, our two little run always.” Kaydel said fondly, almost falling over on her way to sit with them as the craft sped up. “Though I assume it’ll be easier for you to get accustomed to the base than it was for Finn. Or, you are staying, right?”

Rey could feel Ben look at her over his shoulder. It was discreet but that damn tingle proved her correct. She smiled and put a finger to her lips as if in thought. 

“Well, I don’t really have any other plans so I guess I’ll stick around for a while.” Kaydel laughed softly with a smile and patted her shoulder. They had cleaned up her clothes so she was back to wearing them instead of borrowing from the other girls. Neither minded but Rey preceded her own garbs. “Well, I really hope you do stick around. I like you!”

The words warmed her like the sun on Jakku during midday, spreading pleasantly through her body. “Thank you. I quite like the bunch of you scoundrels too.” She said fondly, triggering a chain of laughter from her new found companions. 

“Likewise.” Poe said after catching his breath. “We're just above the atmosphere and we’ll be setting down shortly so hold on tight!”

“Hey Rey, you said you never left Jakku right?” She barely had the time to nod before Finn motioned for her to switch seats with him so she’d be closer to the window. “You’re going to love this.” 

As she turned back to look out the large windows the sight that met her was breathtaking. Luscious greenery reached up towards the sky that they descended from. Wherever her eyes turned, all shades of greens washed over her. Cruising just above the thick forest Rey felt her eyes and nose burn. She couldn’t believe her eyes. 

Sniffling she felt tears roll down her cheeks as a breath escaped her quivering lips. It was absolutely beautiful. “I didn’t know there was this much green in the entire galaxy.” The engine almost drowned out her voice but she hadn’t even registered speaking. 

Finn simply smiled at her, everyone seemed to quiet down as Rey leaned closer to the window, such wonder in her eyes. As they broke through the treetops, a huge castle made itself present in the distance. “Wow..” It had to be the biggest building she’d seen. It definitely had nothing on her AT-AT. 

“Quite impressive huh.” Poe said as he gently brought them down to land not too far from the massive castle. Rey barely let the thing go as she got up from her seat and hurried to the hatch to get out. Almost stumbling over her own feet she looked around herself at all the plants. 

Taking a deep breath Rey patted her cheeks that had begun to hurt from how much she was smiling. “The air is so fresh….”

“If we get business done quick we could look around a bit more while as the tank gets filled back up and we’re on our way.” Ben offered as he passed her, putting a hand on her shoulder as he walked past. Rey looked around her as the rest walked past one by one. 

Finn turned around to look at her, nodding her head for her to hurry along. As the sun gently glistened down at her through the trees she smiled, not being able to believe that she made it. She actually left Jakku. 

The group followed as Ben led them towards the entrance of the impressive building. Kaydel and Rose broke off to go and get their tank filled up so they would be ready to leave once the items were given to them. 

Rey didn’t even notice until they were back at the craft that they had left, she was preoccupied with taking in all of the things going on around her. It was so beautiful. So different. She could hear the chirping of birds in the distance and buzzing of bugs. 

“Don’t wander off now Rey, keep close.” Finn had taken hold of her elbow and pulled her the other direction she’d walked so that they’d fall on track with Poe and Ben who chatted about something she couldn’t make out. 

“It’s just so much to see. I’m trying to memorise it all, I don’t want to forget this.” Finn nodded understandably. “What is the resistance base like? The one we’re going to after this?”

Finn definitely found her enthusiasm and wonder absolutely adorable. She was seeing so much for the first time and it had to be so exciting but terrifying at the same time. And then the curiosity of seeing how else planets would look like. 

“D’Qar doesn’t have the same vegetation as here, at least not where the base is located. The base is hidden as grassy hills and there are mountains in the distance. It’s a sight to see, I’m sure you’ll like it. Not as fantastical as this.”

“I mean I only have Jakku to compare.” She countered, to what Finn only nodded with a smile. “Things can only get more interesting from that.”

“Well you keep close, Poe and I are going to find who is going to fill the tank up and send them over so Kaydel and Rose can get that done. Ben will deal with the sellers.”

“Sounds good to me.” Rey smiled and they walked through the gate, stepping into the organised chaos that was inside. Countless tables filled with all types of species gambling and chatting away. 

A band played an upbeat song that felt like white noise against the conversations in the establishment. It was so much to take in, she’d be exhausted from sensory overload by the time they were back on the craft. Getting lost in the strange exterior, Finn pulled at her arm to get her to follow. 

“What did I just say about wandering off?” He chuckled and Rey could only smile, keeping close as Poe spoke to a creature about Maz promising them help with gas, it grunted in agreement and said something about sending their right hand over to fix it. 

Rey took the time to look around the room again as they stood still. She spotted Ben across the room, it was hard not to notice him with the way he towered over most people in here. He held a package under his arm and observed a holo disc in his hand as the two other people counted the credits. 

Their eyes met across the room and Ben smiled, holding the disc up higher for her to see better. Rey just nodded and smiled back. She really liked his smile, it was so gentle and reserved, simple but telling. 

She heard Poe speaking about how to make your ship fly faster by tinkering a little with the thrusters as Ben was about to head over to them. However a loud female voice interrupted the crossing of the room. “Ben Solo!” Everything went quiet momentarily as a short humanoid woman came walking up to Ben, their height differences almost comical. 

Rey smiled as he talked to the woman, looking a bit ashamed over something as he rubbed the back of his neck, giving a shrug and looking over to her, Poe and Finn. She smiled at them before her eyes wandered over the room again, soaking in the atmosphere and rowdy guests. 

Turning to her left she heard a distant scream, the rest of the noise seemed to wash out as the muffled yells echoed. Eyes landing on a large entryway down to a cellar she walked towards it, feeling a pull to follow. Everything had seemed to go quiet as she ascended down the cold stone stairs and she assumed that she’d gone too far away from the room she originated from. Finn’s suggestion to stay close was already forgotten. 

At the bottom of the stairs she found a long corridor, it smelled humid and like dirt as she slowly followed the sound. So familiar yet she didn’t recognize it. 

Rey came to a stop in front of a door and without even trying, the pad lit up and the metal door slid open. Everything became almost agonisingly quiet, all she could hear was her own heart beating wildly in her ears as she slowly stepped inside. 

It didn’t make sense for it to open by itself, yet it had. Was this something she did unconsciously with the force?

Looking around the room Rey instantly laid notice on the chest in the end of it and when she looked straight at it, the pull became stronger. As if it was telling her to open it. 

Kneeling down in front of it, Rey slowly opened the lid, scared of what to find inside, but as it creaked ominously the only thing inside was what looked like a hilt. She reached out, fingers barely touching it and suddenly everything went dark. 

A loud scream came from behind her and as she stood, Rey found herself in what looked like a hallway of lights, the sound echoing around the walls. Breaking into a sprint all she did was tumble to the ground as the scenery changed. Hands scraping against cold rock made her hiss in pain for a moment, rain falling around her. In the distance she could make out the silhouette of a man kneeling next to a droid. But before even registering it, she was alarmed by a movement from behind and came face to face with a man falling to his death. 

Dangerous, threatening red glowed like embers in a fire in the darkness. 

Scrambling to get up and flee she looked straight at a masked mad, grip tight around the hilt of a red lightsaber. Stepping back as he began to approach she redied herself to be hit. But that deafening scream pounded in her head again, forcing her to turn her head. 

Nausea filled every cell of her body as she looked at herself as a child crying after her mother and father. Unkar Plutt holding her back as the ship disappeared in a red glow in the dark sky. She felt dizzy and terribly disoriented, wanting to get away. 

She had to get away. 

Breaking into a spring, feet cold from the snow she was stepping in, she bolted towards the trees behind her. But within the blink of an eye, that masked creature stepped in front of her, lightsaber held up. The shock sent her tumbling to the floor, gasping for air as if she’d been held underwater for too long. 

The man was gone. 

Looking around, eyes wide with fear she turned to see the short woman from earlier watching her in the corridor. 

“What was that?” Rey heard how ready and thick her voice was. “I shouldn’t have gone in there.” She felt scared, so terribly afraid of what she’d seen. It was like the dream she’d shared with Ben, and she wondered if this also had to do with that man Snoke. 

“That lightsaber was Luke’s and his father’s before him and now… it calls to you.” She said and Rey felt her hands tremble. 

She didn’t understand why. Why was it calling to her? “Why?” Was all she could manage to say in her shock. 

Maz removes the glasses over her eyes and simply held her hand out and Rey reached out with her trembling hand to accept it, kneeling down. “Dear child.. Ben told me about your new found ability in the force. I may not be a Jedi but I know the force. It moves through and surrounds every living thing.”

Rey managed to collect her breath a little, feeling at ease for a moment. “Close your eyes.” She said and Rey watched her closely. “Feel it. The light...it’s always been there, it’ll guide you. The saber, take it.”

Shocked for a moment Rey had trouble finding her words. Fear washed over her at the thought of what she just went through when touching it. Standing back up she shook her head, she wanted to eat away. The force may have always been with her, but how it worked terrified her. How it showed her things. Made her feel. 

“I can’t. I can’t take it.” She rushes out, almost stumbling over her words and then bolted the way she came from. Rey felt as if she couldn’t breathe, she needed to get out. Stumbling out of the door and taking off into the forest she didn’t stop until she almost came crashing into a tree. Grabbing onto it she heaved, legs trembling and eyes burning with unshed tears. 

Of course she remembered the day her parents left clearly. It had been the worst day of her life. It had kept her trapped in the Jakku desert for years hoping for them to come back but each day feeling more and more lost and lonely. 

But to  _ see _ herself crying for them to come back. It made it feel so fresh. Ripping old wounds open she had tried so hard to cover up and heal. 

Desperately blinking away tears she let one desperate sob escape her dry lips, head leaning against the rough bark as she tried to collect herself. 

“Rey.” She flinched back at her name but suddenly calmness settled over her as Ben reached out to place a hand on her trembling shoulder. “It’s alright.” Worry played in those dark brown eyes and Rey sniffled. It didn’t feel alright. “Come on, we’re leaving.”

“Ben...I saw things.” He just nodded and her eyes fell down to his chest, then his hips where the hilt she’d touched was hung on his belt. Maz must’ve told him what happened. It scared her. She never wanted to go back to Jakku. She never wanted to be that lonely again. 

“Rey we should—“ He stopped mid sentence. Rey looked up to see what happened only to see his eyes cast to the treetops. Rey looked up to see what had gathered his attention when three red glowing bolts filled the sky between the leaves. Rey gasped when one of them collided into something in the sky. 

“That was the republic.” The way Ben spoke was so distant, as if he couldn’t believe it. Rey took hold of his arm when she heard the distant buzzing of ships approaching. “Ben.” She alerted and he nodded, tearing his eyes off the sky and taking hold of her hand. 

“Listen. We need to get out of here immediately. This is not going to end well if we stay.” They took off back to where they’d come from and Rey realized that she must’ve ran quite the distance in her panicked daze to her surprise. 

“Who are they?” She managed to ask between deep breaths as they jumped over roots and down rocks. 

“First order. They must’ve recognized our ship or us and alerted them. We’re wanted dead or alive so I’d prefer not to find out how we’ll be brought to the supremacy.”

“Because of Snoke?”

“Partly. But I don’t want to find that out now.” 

When getting to the edge of the forest they both saw the tie fighters and stormtroopers shooting. Several other crafts were up in the sky shooting back and other people on ground fighting off the attack. “Shit.” He swore, eyes scanning around for their ship when spotting it in the sky, shooting down a tie fighter that came hurling down and crashing not too far from them. 

Rey jumped but grounded herself quickly, she needed to keep her focus. “Okay, listen. Take my blaster. I know you’re skilled in combat but I rather have you fight with a lightsaber in a more controlled environment for the first time.” Taking the DL-44 heavy blaster from its holster at his thigh and handing it over to her without taking eyes off of the sky. 

“I do have to say I didn’t expect  _ this _ when I left Jakku.” Rey muttered as she hid behind one of the trees as a gang of stormtroopers cane running by. 

“I gotta keep you on your toes.” Ben grinned at her and despite the situation she smiled back, nodding to signal she was ready. A stormtrooper came backing up towards them as he shot at people running to their crafts to get away and Ben saw his opportunity. 

It was almost beautiful, the way he moved. With one swift motion he took the hilt from his belt and ignited the saber, stepping forwards to stab it through the white armour as it extended to its full length. His eyes scanned the surroundings while using the dying trooper as a shield before dropping the body to the ground and deflecting several blaster bullets hurling his way. 

Rey felt bewitched by the way he moved and for a moment she simply watched as he took on the closest stormtroopers. She snapped back into reality when he set off running into battle and Rey took way after him, struggling to get the safety off to shoot. 

A blaster bolt flew past her head, ringing in her ear just as she got it off and after two tries got a hit in. Adrenaline pumping through her blood she kept sure that no one attacked Ben from behind as he swung his way through the enemy. The more she got to use the blaster, the easier it seemed. 

“Duck!” Ben yelled just in time as a tie fighter wooshed over them, spraying bolts over the ground, making dirt fly around them. Rey jumped behind a fallen bit of debris and for a moment she hoped that the rest were okay. Glancing over the edge of the rock that once had been a part of the towers she made sure Ben was fine. When seeing him jump to attack another trooper she held her hand over the edge to shoot at another one approaching from the back. 

Sending off a bolt that hit its target she noticed the two blasters sailed straight at her head from behind her.  _ Crap _ . Rey wondered if this was it then, but within seconds their bodies crumbled to the ground behind her and not too far away stood Finn, his own blaster in hand. 

“Rey! Are you okay?” He came running up and put a hand on her shoulder. “I’m fine!” She shouted back over the roaring ships in the sky. Finn nodded and let her go, turning around to fend off more stormtroopers. 

Rey jumped over the stones, running to get closer to where Ben had been pushed by the fight. The stormtroopers were endless, as if for everyone that fell, two more appeared. Finn did a good job fighting by himself, but suddenly more skips set down and numerous more troopers cane running out, blasters loaded and ready. 

Swirling around she was ready to take defence for him, only to find herself getting surrounded as well. “Drop your weapon!” One of them shouted, several guns pointed at her. Glancing over to Finn he seemed to be in a similar situation. 

A rough hand grabbed her wrist holding the blaster, wrenching her arm behind her and ripping the weeping from her hands. Hissing in pain she struggled for a moment only to feel the typ of what she assumed was a blaster between her shoulder blades. 

Out of the corner of her eye she could see Finn struggling against the hold of two stormtroopers as well. However she could still hear the swing of a lightsaber behind her. She was sure if she was better trained in the force she could use that to fight off the people surrounding her. 

“We got the girl.” One of the troopers said, probably getting a reply through a com she couldn’t hear. The blaster dug deeper in between her shoulders, pushing her to take a step forward. Ben said they probably were high on a wanted list, but she really would t expect her to be a wanted target. 

However they didn’t come far before a craft flew by, expertly shooting down every trooper surrounding her, Finn and Ben. Rey laughed a little at the odds and Finn cane running up to her, waving at the craft. “Show them Dameron!” Quickly snatching the blaster Ben offered her back up she stuffed it into the back of her belt and picked up one of the blasters a trooper had carried. 

“Where did he get that craft?” Rey asked, Brows furrowed in confusion. Finn nodded his head back and she followed the movement to see several similar crafts fighting off the tie fighters in a flurry in the sky. “Resistance..” She breathed. 

“Either Kaydel and Rose sent a message or someone must be on our side here.” They took off towards Ben and together they managed to take down a group of stormtroopers as the ships lessened. Rey quickly handed the blaster back to Ben who put it into his holster with a nod, then motioned for them to follow as they together took down another set of stormtroopers. 

Despite what was happening, Rey thought things went rather well. The three of them held up well against the first order with on ground battle. Ben was very skilled with his saber and Finn was a good shooter. Rey stumbles a little with the larger weapon but manages to get hits in. 

It wasn’t until another tie fighter came hurling to the ground close to them that things took a turn. “Rey!” Finn yelled one alarm and she managed to turn around to him, but she wasn’t quick enough to steer clear of the debris falling down with the craft. She barely had the time to think before a part of the wings slammed against her, throwing her unconscious to the ground. 

She could hear the distant yelling after her as well as the crafts soaring above. But it was distant, as if she’d hold her hands over her ears to block out the sound. The last thing she felt before everything went completely black was her stray hair being brushed from her forehead. 


	3. daze

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a bit short but a lot is going to go into the next chapter when they arrive on Jakku!! hope you enjoy reading !!

“—with the force?”

“Yeah, she says she’s never really felt it before so I’m speculating that me using the force to heal her, brought it to the surface. It seems to always have been there but just recently awoke.”

“That is very much a possibility. But what I’m intrigued by is how your connection seems to be different than for example mine and yours. Even with Luke. Huh...what a peculiar situation.”

“Indeed..I promised to help her use and understand the force. Since old man Luke isn’t around anymore.”

“We’ll find him.”

Rey recognised Ben’s voice almost immediately as she slowly came to her senses. But the female voice she couldn’t place. Her body felt beaten up, but she’d had much worse. Like when falling several meters down into sand after wrongly calculating a jump while scavenging. 

“I think the falcon is on Jakku.”

“The falcon?”

“She was going to steal a freighter with the same model. It’s worth a check is it not?”

“Have you told your father?”

“Not yet, a part of me wanted to find it so I could one up him.”

“You two are insufferable.”

She let out a quiet groan as she tried to move her arm but found it very sore. Blinking slowly the room materialised in front of her. It looked a bit like the med bay on the ship and for a moment she wondered if they were back. 

“Where am I?” She asked, eyes falling on Ben and an older woman standing a little further away from where she laid. From what her blurry eyes could make out the woman was wearing some sort of pantsuit and a vest, her hair up in a braid. Next to Ben she looked fragile and small, but she assumed that she probably too was dwarfed by Ben. 

“We’re on a resistance ship.” Rey hummed and nodded, moving to sit up and Ben helped her by putting one of his hands on her back and taking her hand to pull her up. “There we go.. you want something?”

“Water...maybe something to eat as well. Soup or something if it’s available?” Ben murmured a quiet “anything for you” with a wink as he adjusted the pillows so she could sit comfortably. “What happened after I passed out?”

“We were alerted by an ally that they saw Ben here, making sure everything was fine and dandy. It’s not like we fly over to Maz’s castle every other day. Then Kaydel and Rose sent us a message of approaching first order ships so we made our way here.” It was the woman who spoke and she walked closer, reaching out for her and Rey placed her hand in the one offered to her. “Ben has told me about you. I’d love to get to know more about you Rey.”

Eyes widening she realized who’s hand she was holding. “Leia.” She breathed, as if she couldn’t believe that princess Leia Organa was standing right there in front of her in the flesh. 

The elder woman just smiled fondly, reaching up with her free hand to gently cup her cheek and chuckling. “Ben also told me about the stories back on Jakku you’d hear.” Leaning a bit closer she placed her hand back over her’s in a comforting warm touch. “I’d be more than happy to tell you more.”

Whatever pain and fatigue she felt was washed away by the excitement of being promised stories from general Organa. “I’d love to. I’d be honoured.” Rey said quickly, almost stumbling over her words. 

“Then we’ll arrange that, now you should rest. I’ll stop by the kitchen and make sure they send something here. It was nice meeting you Rey.” Leia whispered something to Ben before she walked out the doors and left them alone. 

“I’ll get you some water then. How are you feeling? I didn’t use the force to heal you this time, it wasn’t a severe injury but the impact knocked you out cold. Finn thought you were dead for a good minute.” Rey took the glass and filled down the water. 

“I’m fine despite the soreness. The exhaustion may just be from the emotional toll that I went through.” She shrugged and Ben nodded in agreement, refilling her glass and handing it back. 

“You’ll recover quickly after some soup and more rest later. Maybe some meditating could help out as well.” Rey smiled and nodded, meditation did sound good. They tried it a bit on the ship to get in touch with the force within themselves but she’d had a hard time focusing with the thought of how Maz’s castle would look like. 

“I’d like that a lot, yes.” This time it was Ben’s turn to smile, eyes looking over her carefully as she sipped on her second glass. “Are...are the rest?”

Ben sat down on the bed next to her and put a comforting hand over her knee. “Don’t worry, everyone’s fine. Spare their worry over you. You know, for only knowing you for a week or two's time, you’ve already won over their hearts.” The thought of other people caring so deeply for her did make her feel warm inside. It felt nice to have people to care for in return. 

Elbowing Ben gently in his ribs she looked up at him. “What about you then? Have I won over your heart yet?” Teasing him was entertaining because she could see the way the tips of his ears that peeked out from under the mess of black turn pink. 

She felt a squeeze on her knee as his eyes lowered for a split second, Rey felt her heart stutter as she realized he was looking at her lips. Her tongue farted out to wet her lips and his eyes were back on hers. “Maybe.” Suddenly the door opened and a stranger walked in with a tray for her, smiling widely. 

Ben got back up to take it from them, giving a quick thank you before handing it to Rey. It was then she noticed she wasn’t wearing the clothes she had been walking around in last time she was conscious. A blush tossed her cheeks. Had Ben changed her clothes? 

Instead of mulling over that mystery she stuffed her mouth full of soup and kept her gaze on the tray. Silently eating she swung her legs back and forth under her slowly until the tray was empty and Ben said they should do a last check up before she was released from the med bay. 

It didn’t take long for her to be cleared and a few bandages changed on her arm before Ben escorted her to the quarters she’d stay in. As they walked down the corridor Rey thought about the fight that had occurred. Brows furrowed, she turned to face the other. “What did happened? After I got knocked out. I didn’t really get a reply.”

Slowing down to a stop the two of them stood to the side of the corridor, not too far from the accommodations. A trip came walking down the hall, the two of them making room in between them. “Finn checked on you first to make sure you weren’t…. _ gone _ . Like I said.” The word sent a small chill down her spine. 

“We got held back for a moment but soon they pulled back the attack with the remaining ships. I assume they took too big of a loss than expected. Plus the resistance showed up which wasn’t calculated on their behalf I believe.” Rey nodded, eyes not leaving Ben’s. 

“So we won?” Ben gave a shrug and Rey took note that he’d changed his clothes. He was wearing a white linen shirt that was cut in a rather deep V and no jacket adorned his broad frame as what she’d grown used to. 

“I don’t really think there’s any winning or losing in this situation. We managed to fight them off for now. We’ll be leaving in a few days. First order knows we’re here so it’s not clever to stick around and be an easy target.” Rey only nodded, taking a step back once more as a person came jogging by, arms full off pilot suits. “Especially since we’re not sure  _ why _ they decided to send such a large attack…”

Something in Ben’s eyes looked distant, as if trying to figure it out there on the spot. “Once they were gone and everything seemed safe I carried you onto the ship. My mother made sure to have you tended to right away so that you wouldn’t have any serious injuries unattended that would turn worse. Considering what I told her about how we found you. You woke up not long after, I’d say you were out for a few hours tops.” Falling back into step they continued their journey to where she’d be settling in. 

“Okay. So...what happens now?” 

“We’ll see. They are currently reviewing the information we obtained. Probably trying to figure out a new attack plan while on ground before we lift off.”

Rey wondered how things would be now when she’d technically joined the resistance. Ben still had his promise of teaching her about the force. But he must have a lot of other things to tend to, he’s the son of the general after all. She was still unsure how she could possibly provide vital help to them. 

Finally coming to a stop, Ben gestured towards an open door. “I may have convinced my mother into giving you a bit of a private space. Usually we sleep in larger barracks but I wasn’t sure whether you’d feel more comfortable like this.” She flushed at the thought of being spoiled with her own room while the others shared. It seemed a bit unfair. Sure she was used to her own living space back on Jakku, but she also lived in the middle of the desert. Not many people that could be considered friendly. 

“Ben...this is maybe a bit too much. I’m sure the usual barracks would work just fine for me.” She insisted, wringing her hands nervously as her gaze shifted from the room and up at the other. 

“Stay in here for a week at least. Try to get accustomed to life here while being able to retrieve to your own space. It could be overwhelming.”

Letting out a sigh she finally nodded, agreeing to the terms. “So, what will I be doing?”

“You seem good at machinery and what not so I guess you’d maybe find some peace of mind working on the ships. Poe is often down at the bay with the rest of the pilots so you’d have a friendly face down there.” Smiling he ushered her inside. “But first rest. You still took a 20kg piece of scrap metal flying at you, take a day or two.”

Looking around the room she saw her few things were already placed inside. Her staff leaning against the wall at the foot of the small bed, bag and her usual clothes folded on top of it. The drawstring bag of parts she’d scavenged from her old craft I’m a corner. And there, on top of a small desk was the lightsaber that had previously belonged to Anakin and Luke. It still made her feel slightly uneasy. 

“One last thing before I leave you alone for now…” Rey turned to Ben, smiling at him a bit as he had to lean his head down to fit into the small door frame. A quick nod of affirmation was all he needed to continue. “The freighter you were about to steal...you sure it was that model?”

“I’m certain it was a YT-1300f light freighter. A piece of garbage but it’s a big ship and yeah, personal vendetta and all. Why?”

“Just curious. Now, rest. You’re free to roam at will if you get bored, I’ll be in the control room if you need me. Bye Rey.”

Bidding him a goodbye she decided that maybe a quick nap couldn’t really hurt. Moving her belongings over to the desk she plopped down onto the mattress with a sigh. Laying down to stare up at the white dimly lit ceiling. She wondered why Ben found interest in the old piece of junk Plutt owned. Maybe he was simply interested in details for a report or a personal interest in the craft, she thought as she let her eyes grow heavy. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Rey stirred around a metal spoon in the caff she’d been offered by Leia as she glanced out at the stars passing by as the large craft moved towards their destination. She’d grown more accostumed to the life on the ship the past few days. Just like Ben had suggested she’d spent most time boosting and repairing crafts with other mechanics at the bay. 

Poe would check up on her regularly and drag her off to a few meetings or other shenanigans from time to time. Finn usually ended up with them too, not spending too much time far away from Poe it seemed. She didn’t mind at all, enjoying running around the ship doing god knows what. Rey had also had the pleasure to meet Poe’s droid BB-8, an adorable little thing that rolled after him wherever he went. 

It had taken a liking to her after Rey found him stuck between a few cargo boxes with a bent antenna. After straightening it out for him she had the droid following her around for the rest of the day until Poe muttered something about being easily bought over. 

Ben had meditated with her at least once a day and tried to help her connect with the force, but mostly she’d try and sneak glances at him as they sat alone in a scheduled room away from others. Maybe that’s why she had a hard time concentrating. Yesterday she’d been caught staring and in her embarrassment her cheeks and ears had turned red. 

She’d closed her eyes before seeing Ben’s small smile aimed at her. 

But she had made progress. Even if being in close proximity to Ben seemed to make her heart flutter strangely in her chest. She could easily distinguish both Ben’s and Leia’s force signatures now. And how for some reason Ben’s was clearly something else, at lack of better words. 

Rey was brought out of her musings as Leia returned to the table, placing her own cup down and taking the seat across from her. Offering the older woman a smile she took a sip of the still warm drink. It had grown in her. 

“I’m glad I finally can sit down with you for a moment. Rey, that was quite the adventure you set yourself out for.” Her warm smile had her smiling back. “Tell me.”

Rey took a moment, gathering her thoughts on where to begin. It wasn’t much to tell, most days were the same after the moment her parents left. “Well I lived on Jakku my whole life, it's all I can remember at least. And my parents left me there, I have this vague memory of my mother telling me they’d be back… I’m not sure how many years it took from them and now. I never really counted the markings on my wall.”

Leia placed a comforting hand over hers. Saddened eyes searching for hers to show that he felt her sorrow and conflict. “I stayed for so long hoping they’d be back. But….I think deep down I knew they wouldn’t. It still doesn’t stop me from feeling as if it was a bad idea for leaving, just in case they’d return right after I left.”

“It wasn’t that long ago I decided to get off Jakku and I’m sure Ben has told you about how my craft was not really equipped to survive the type of travel I had set in mind. I don’t really remember much else but anger and sadness before I passed out in the craft. Next thing I know...I wake up on another ship.”

Leia was quiet for a moment, waiting to see if she wanted to speak more before speaking up herself. “Rey. It can’t be easy going through all that at such a young age. Ben also mentioned you wanted to steal a craft that specifically belonged to Unkar Plutt?”

“I worked under him from the moment my parents left. I scavenged for parts around the desert and would return them in exchange of portions. He’s not exactly the kindest creature in the galaxy.” She muttered and gently pulled her hands away from Leia to drink her caff. “I wanted to inconvenience him by stealing his ship. But his goons must’ve seen me and I had to jump ship after fighting them off. I just wanted to get away as fast as I could.”

“I see. I understand. Well I’m very happy that you left. Otherwise I’d not be able to meet you Rey.” She was unable to fight the smile over the corner of her cup. ”I’m also aware that Ben has wowed to help you get in touch with the force. But if you ever need some extra tips I’m also here for you. I’m not as highly attuned to it as my son, but I know a thing or two.” 

“Thank you Leia. I’m glad to have met you as well. All of you.” The two spoke for what probably ended up being hours. Rey told her about her life on Jakku in greater detail, how she’d fight off people with her staff if they tried to harm her and how she’d made everything she owned herself from scrap parts. 

Rey had explained how strange it felt to suddenly have this thing that apparently always had been with her, suddenly be such a big part of her. And she had to learn about herself in a new way. Tears threatening to spill from her eyes. She barely knew who she was to begin with and now there was another thing to pile onto that. 

Leia assures her time and time again that she didn’t need to feel unsure in herself. That finding herself was important, and it may take time, but she was already so strong and in touch with the force. 

And when thinking aloud of the stories she’d heard about Leia and Luke, she had happily told her more. Going in depth about what had happened. Rey had to pinch herself in the thigh to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. 

Leia was just wrapping up her story about how she’d taken out Jabba the Hutt with the very chain he’d kept her on as Luke and Han fought off his goons over a sarlacc pit on Tatooine when there was a knock on the door. Rey, who was completely lost in the amazing tale, captivated by the bravery and gut of the woman in front of her, barely noted it. However the door hissed when it opened a tiny bit and Ben peeked inside. 

“Sorry to interrupt, Finn told me I could find you here. I have a proposition to bring to the table.” The elder woman waved a hand to tell him to come inside. Ben slid into the room and smoothly shut the door behind him. “Well, I've already decided that I’ll be flying out to Niima outpost to take a look at the freighter. I’m pretty sure that it is the millennium falcon from what Rey has said. Plus dad never mentioned looking I’m those regions.”

Rey’s eyes widened. “The millennium falcon?” Ben couldn’t help but let a little laugh slip at her precious reaction to the name. She couldn’t believe her ears. “Unkar Plutt stole the millennium falcon?”

“Perhaps. Could very much be true. It was originally stolen from my dad and it seems that it could track back to Plutt.” Ben thought aloud, gaze to the floor for a moment before averting his eyes back up to the two. 

“But what I had in mind was to bring Rey with me. You if anyone knows Jakku and I think it’d be good to have someone who’s accustomed to the planet. We would travel through light speed so it wouldn’t take long. If you’d be up for it, of course. I understand there might be conflicting feelings about returning.”

She could feel Leia’s eyes shift to her, observing, and if Rey was honest, she didn’t even need to think that hard about it. Yes she wasn’t all too excited to return after finally getting away. But she wouldn’t be travelling alone, and she would get the last word against Plutt by stealing the freighter. Like she originally planned. Which would be especially exciting if it was the millennium falcon. 

She could also use the time to maybe learn more about the force. And Rey couldn’t lie that getting to know Ben a bit more closely also was in her interest as she considered going on a duo mission. 

“When do we leave?” Was all she asked, a grin on her lips which Ben returned just as confidently. The force seemed to crackle at that, warmth collecting in her chest and making her feel serene. “As soon as you’re ready.” 


End file.
